DeLauro Applauds First Filing of the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Enforcement Mechanism

WASHINGTON – House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) issued the following statement on thefirst complaint filed under the Rapid Response Mechanism of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, and the Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Trabajadores de Industrias y de Servicios "Movimiento 20/32" (SNITIS) filed the complaint against Tridonex, an auto parts factory located in Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico.

"Trade agreements will never have a meaningful impact unless they are truly enforceable. As a member of Speaker Pelosi's USMCA Working Group in 2019, I worked with my colleagues to ensure that any new-NAFTA includes robust, tangible enforcement measures. We were successful in our efforts to include a labor, facility-specific rapid response enforcement mechanism to hold bad actors accountable, improve labor standards, and raise wages in Mexico.

"Today's announcement by the AFL-CIO, SEIU, SNITIS, and Public Citizen is the first filing of the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Enforcement Mechanism. Tridonex, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Cardone Industries Inc., has denied Mexican workers their fundamental right to organize and collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions. These violations are well-documented and have been occurring for years, and I am hopeful that today's filing marks the first step in demonstrating how enforceable trade agreements are essential to ensuring U.S. trade policy supports workers' rights and jobs."

More information on the complaint against Tridonex can be found here.